Technical innovations in electronic components have enabled miniaturization of various types of electronic apparatus and the miniaturization has enabled widespread use of portable information devices as represented by portable telephones.
A major cause of breakdown during use of portable telephones is dropping.
An electronic apparatus that was dropped naturally receives a shock, and is at times damaged.
There has been a problem that, on such an occasion, when the user requests the manufacturer or servicing company for repair, it takes time for the manufacturer to identify the cause of breakdown. This hampers immediate response to the repair request.
The warranty may state that “Even when the product is under warranty, if the breakdown is due to dropping of the product by the user, the breakdown will not be covered by warranty.” However, the user may request the manufacturer or servicing company for charge-free repair or charge-free replacement when the occurrence of the damage is within the warranty period.
In such a case, it is not possible to prove that the electronic apparatus (a portable telephone, for example) has been given an extraordinary large shock (hereinafter referred to as “excessive shocks”) that would not occur in normal use. When a breakdown is surmised by the manufacturer or servicing company to have been caused by dropping, as long as the user claims that it is not due to dropping, the manufacturer or servicing company had to accept the request for charge-free repair or charge-free replacement.